Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) chairperson Annabel Mtalimanja has called on electoral stakeholders to embrace the electoral cycle and undertake activities continuously to ensure successful elections in future.
She said there was need to move away from an event-based understanding of elections and recognise that democracy requires continuous investment.
Mtalimanja, a judge of the High Court of Malawi, made the remarks as the 2025 General Election Post-Election Review (PER) report identified institutional, legal and operational challenges that require attention to maintain and strengthen public confidence in elections and improve future electoral processes.
She said: “The quality of the 2030 general election will depend significantly on what we, again collectively, do between now and then. We must strengthen every strand of the electoral process and ensure that no weak link undermines the integrity of the whole chain.
“Our task is not merely to prepare for another election, but to strengthen our democratic governance.”
Mtalimanja stressed the need for deliberate efforts to build and sustain independent institutions, including the election management body.
According to the report, although the 2025 General Election was successful and positively assessed by citizens and international observers as peaceful, consultations MEC held with various stakeholders established that vulnerabilities remain in the electoral environment and arrangements.
The report recommends reinforcing the independence, institutional functioning and accountability of MEC; strengthening political party regulation; enhancing coordination among institutions; and addressing wider democratic challenges such as declining electoral participation, escalating campaign costs, misinformation and the under-representation of women and persons with disabilities in elected office.
Among the challenges stakeholders noted during the 2025 General Election were distrust of MEC, heated negative narratives and the challenge of introducing new technology.
The review also identified broader democratic challenges beyond the administration of elections.
It found that 7 203 390 registered voters represented only 64.87 percent of the projected eligible voters. Of those who registered, 76.4 percent voted, representing 49.56 percent of the eligible voting population.
The high number of independent candidates was also cited as a sign of persistent weaknesses in internal political party democracy. Of the candidates who contested the election, 39 percent were independents.
The report further noted a decline in women’s representation in the National Assembly, from 22 percent to 20.9 percent.
The report cited emerging risks as including a potentially less conducive political environment that could affect the operational independence of MEC, reduced international development financing for electoral support, constrained resources for civil society’s civic and voter education and election observation roles, and an increasingly complex information environment characterised by misinformation and disinformation.
UN resident coordinator Rebecca Addah Dontoh said Malawi should build on the success of the 2025 General Election to ensure a successful election in 2030.
In an interview, Centre for Multiparty Democracy executive director Boniface Chibwana also said stakeholders needed to start implementing the reforms now, saying waiting until 2030 would not help matters.
Chisankho Watch chairperson Bishop Gilford Matonga called for focus on the genuine independence of MEC.
CSOs faced funding challenges in conducting civic and voter education in the last general election, resulting in most of them not participating.
